Detailed Introduction ILGRadio

ILGRadio - Answers to When What Where Why How

 

PREFACE

The ILG database as a frequency list was developed in the early 1970s,
since I'm lazy and i needed a good frequency list where I can immediately identify
which station I am currently receiving. There weren't any useful documents available
and therefore I developed ways to solve this problem.
The first lists were written by hand, then with the typewriter and in the early 80s
with my first computer that only had a floppy disk drive of 150KB. The database was
therefore very small and was created with the WORDSTAR program written as a text file.
The computers got better and better and the storage capacity got bigger and therefore
my databases could become more and more detailed and extensive information.
The ILG has been created with the dBASE program since the 1990s and the Master file
contains today more than 200,000 data records with 99 data fields.
In the 1990s, the ILG's file structure was developed in collaboration with frequency
managers from Deutsche Welle, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), VOA (Voice of
America) and RFE (Radio Free Europe) designed and tailored to their needs customized.
This file (master file) contains over 2,000,000 reception observations and from this
mosaic emerges the ILG for professional customers and ILGRadio for only the private
non-commercial users.
The professional ILG with a lot more technical information to run the WPLOT software
(created by Norbert Schall, former engineer  of Deutsche Welle) is used by most
active HFCC members for professional frequency planning as the HFCC Data is unusable
because of too many FAKE entries and incorrect data. These FAKE entries are clearly
marked in the ILG and are in the ILGRadio Database not included. The professional ILG
already contains about 6 months before Broadcast periods The new broadcast schedules
begin with details such as the new frequency plan will look like.
When the radio broadcasting period begins at the end of March and October, my bandscans
starts to check and confirm the transmissions of the ILG for correctness.
The observations of the non-broadcasting stations (UTILITY) are only in the official
broadcasting bands important and outside of these bands more or less hobby-wise.

The ILG / ILGRadio database is therefore the most up-to-date source of information
today covering the shortwave range and represents a footprint of what is currently  
happening on shortwave (HF between 1.6 - 30 MHz).
The graphic representation of the transmission times "Times by Lines" (in GRAPHIC data
field) and the information when a program/transmission was last observed.
The monitoring date is recorded in the professional ILG database with the full date
and the monthly occupancy, while the ILGRadio only displays the monitoring date as
year and month (YYMM in data field YEAR).
 

PUBLISHING DATES

The ILGRadio database appears with two main issues (broadcast periods) and there
is the "A" edition starting last Sunday in March (Summer Northern Hemisphere) and
the "B" edition starting on the last Sunday in October (Standard Time Winter
Northern Hemisphere).
During these seasons there are releases for every month and all data which are valid
up to the previous month and the following month, will not be considered.
This means the data are only full effective for one month !
There will be more within a month updates because there are changes and updates
almost daily in the master file.
 

VERSIONS

There are always two versions of the ILGRadio database, which differ slightly in terms of content.
The "A" and "B" version is the current one and the other versions have older database formats.
All databases are available in common text, dBASE or CSV format.
COMPLETE SHORT WAVE
The files are downloadable as "A", "E", "S", "W" versions.
The ELAD CSV version is only available in this version with two different data field combinations.
BROADCASTING
This radio database contains all radio broadcasts, weather stations and time signal stations
which are free receivable.
The files are downloadable as "B", "F", "T", "X" versions.

ILGRadio in the HFCC database format is adapted so that UTILITY stations are complete
are uniquely integrated here. The content of the FMO data field (Frequency Management Organization),
which is available in the HFCC format, I am not allowed to publish at the request of the FMO customer.
 

SOFTWARE FOR ILGRADIO

There are some software programs that can read the data from the ILGRadio database, but here they
are importing only a few data fields and the complete scope and content of ILGRadio database is lost.
Therefore, my recommendation is always to use an additional software, e.g. Microsoft Excel / Access or
a dBASE Reader e.g. DBF Manager / DBF Viewer (unfortunately they cost a few Euros, trial versions are
free) or to use other similar programs.

The ILGRadio contains some 10 thousand data records (currently more than 86,000) and therefore it is
very important to have a software which can make at least one index on the frequency (data field FREQ).
The function for a filter on the transmission times is very important in order to display and reduce the data
records on a reasonable number. A filter on the selection larger (>) START and smaller (<) STOP do not
works, because there are programs that are listed with e.g. 2200 - 0600 UTC and no filter works here.
Therefore there are 48 additional data fields for each hour and if there is no transmission, this line contains a "."
(dot blanc) Entry.
For example, if you want to have programs displayed between e.g. 1800-1900, you can set a filter on that
Data field "G18" with the filter "not equal" (<> or #) "." And now you can see all the programs that are between
1800 and 1900 hours (UTC) on air. Depending on the software, you can also use a second filter on the language
e.g. LANGUAGE = "English".
For UTILITY listeners, a call sign filter is very interesting when you receive a station on a brand new frequency.
In this case you set the filter function e.g. to the callsign CALL = "NOJ" and you can see the listing of the ILGRadio
entries of the US Coast Guard Station "NOJ" in Alaska.
Such a filter can also be used for country (ADM or COUNTRY field), transmitter site location (LOCATION), station
name (STATION data field or the short format STN).
There is also the possibility to set a filter on a certain transmitter location region. In the data field "LC"
(CIRAF Zone according to ITU) you can set filter e.g. "28" and you see broadcasting stations from Central Europe.
The possibilities are endless ...
 

CONTENT

The ILGRadio database contains two different broadcast types.

BROADCASTING:
Public broadcasts (international services, domestic services),
Free to receive weather stations (marine radio or air radio), pirate transmitters
and time signal stations.

UTILITY:
Non-public broadcasts by the military (air force, army and navy) and non-military
(diplomacy, shipping, government, industry), which almost all are encrypted.
 

DATA

All databases are listed in frequency order, country and broadcast time.
The databases contain a special data set line (Header Line) within the broadcast bands
and something below and above it which should make the delimitation to the 5 kHz steps
clearly visible.
Here graphically visible special characters are used and in the data field GRAPHIC the
"00", "06", "12", "18" hour and on the right side the frequency is indicated again.

BROADCASTING:
Here are all the current broadcast schedules with very precise broadcast times and much
more up-to-data details listed.
Each of these broadcasts is checked within each broadcast period and that means daily
monitoring across the bands via various remote receivers.
The date of receipt of the last observation is given in the "YEAR" data
field (YYMM) and based on daily monitoring / bandscans of short wave bands.

For some different programs, the broadcast times are in 1-hour format
are listed and several hourly monitor checks are enforced here.
There are a few stations that have 15 minute programs in local dialects
with daily language change.
There is a master line with a general language specification (e.g. "Various",
"Hindi, ...") and the exact language and day information in data sets, which
are marked with "INFO DATA" in the REMARKS data field.
Last monitoring date (YEAR) is only given in the master line data set.

UTILITY:
The transmission times indicate the time windows (operational hours) in which the
stations are using the given frequency.
These broadcasts are not daily, some at regular intervals in operation or on the
air every year in the same month.
There are some stations which transmit in the network on one frequency, often the
transmitter location is not known.
There is a master line with a place holder call sign information using "*" for
a variable character. There is a dataset one for every exact callsign and this
data record is marked with "INFO DATA" in the REMARKS data field.
This allows a precise filter function (data field CALL) for each known call sign.
 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

BROADCASTING:
Transmission Power (kilowatts), Azimuth and Antenna Data are all correct and directly
from the stations approved (data field POWER).
There are many considerable deviations from the public HFCC / ITU data !

UTILITY:
Transmission power (kilowatts) and antenna data are inaccurate and the data
may differ, as the operators do not publish any information or not allowed to
publish (data field POWER).
 

DESIGNATOR OF MODULATION

The type of Modulation is given in the data field MODTYPE.
A3E: Sound (broadcasting)
D7W is DRM
A1A is Morse
F1B is Telex
F3C is Fax
J3E is Voice
J7D is Digital

In the field MOD the following abbreviations are in use:
AM is Amplitude Modulation
DIG is Digital (various)
DRM is Digital Radio Mondiale
ISB is Independent Side Band
LSB is Lower Side Band
USB is Upper Side Band
 

GRAPHIC DATA FIELD BROADCASTING

The broadcast schedules are effective only for valid broadcast period in the database.
In the data field GRAPHIC there is a special character or for non-daily broadcasts
and a number used for a single day.

In the GRAPHIC data field, a character can be set for every half hour (max.30 minutes).
So there are a maximum of 48 characters for 24 hours available.
If there is no broadcast a DOT "." is set for the full hour and a space " " for
the second half hour.
For better reading, a "!" is given at the 6th, 12th and 18th hour.

  "."  (dot) is used on full hour if no transmission entry during first 30 minutes of the hour
" "  (blanc) is used on second half hour if no transmission enty during this half hour
 

TYPES OF TRANSMISSIONS

BROADCASTING:
The broadcast schedules are effective only for valid broadcast period in the database.
In the data field GRAPHIC there is a special character or for non-daily broadcasts
and a number used for a single day.


AM - AMPLITUDE MODULATION:
In the data field GRAPHIC are all programs that are currently sending with a
Capital letters (1st letter of the language in most cases).

DRM - DIGITAL BROADCASTING:
In the case of digital broadcasts, the "|" used on daily broadcasts.
DRM JAMMING from China is also given this way.

SSB - SINGLE SIDE BAND:
In the data field GRAPHIC are all programs that are currently sending with a
lower case letters (1st letter of the language in most cases).
These transmissions are including Naval Warning, Sea Weather, Volmet,...

UTILITY:
All UTILITY transmissions are all marked in the data field LANGUAGE with the
word "DATA:" followed by by a further transmission details (combinations possible):
CODES (Spy Radio)
DATA (Data Transfer)
EMAIL (E-Mail Transfer)
FAX (Telefax)
METEO (Weather Info)
MORSE  (CW)
RADAR (only given when regular frequencies in use)
TELEX (Telegraphy)
TIMES (Time Signals)
VOICE (Traffic/Information)
All transmissions which are sent daily or which are on-air within the last 12 months
have been listened with a special character in the GRAPHIC data field.
/  is HFDL, MPSK, PSK, OFDM, STANAG 4285, STANAG 4538, ALE MIL-STD 188-110, MPSK-12 AT3004D or other digital
+ is Telex (F1B), FSK, STANAG 4481, SITOR, SAAB GRINTEC MHF-50, T-600
:  is ALE MIL-STD 188-141, STANAG 4538, MFSK-8 THALES
;  is LINK-11
^ is Voice Communication
% is MORSE (A1A)
> is Fax (Weather Fax)
&  is Beacon, Channel Marker
8  is Radar (Over the Horizon Radar) only regular used frequencies listet (not listed those who are changing times and frequencies on a daily basis)
9 is Time Signal
Programs that have not been received in the last 12 months are marked with a
Marked by a dash "-". But it also often happens that these "old" programs come back
are active and then the dash is replaced by a character.
There are also a few "alternative" (stand-by) or unconfirmed programs, which
are marked with a dash "-" in the GRAPHIC data field.
 

FREQUENCIES

BROADCASTING:
All frequencies are given in kilohertz (FREQ data field).
There are some stations that do not keep the exact frequency. Either will
this frequency is specified with "Vary Frequency" in the REMARKS data field.
UTILITY:
All frequencies are also given in kilohertz. In many cases the very precise
Frequency must be specified with up to 3 digits after the decimal point to make the
signal correct to be able to receive with appropriate software (e.g. SORCERER).
In addition, the center frequency is specified in the data field CFFREQ.
Carrier Frequencies are given for e.g. HFDL, STANAG 4285, ALE MIL-STD 188-110,
ALE MIL-STD 188-141, LINK-11, FAX (Weather Fax) and can be run with SORCERER.
The center frequency is given for Telex (F1B), FSK, STANAG 4481, SITOR.
 

FURTHER DATA FIELDS

ADM - ADMINISTRATION
The country of the transmission location is specified according to an ITU Country Identifier. ILGRadio
gives further country codes from the amateur radio area or own codes (ADM data field):
ALS: Alaska
ASC: Ascension
AZR: Azores
CNR: Canary Islands
DGA: Diego Garcia
GIB: Gibraltar
GUF: Guyana
HKG: Hong Kong
HWA: Hawaii
MRA: Northern Mariana Islands
MRI: Martinique
NCL: New Caledonia
OCE: French Polynesia
REU: Reunion
TWN: Taiwan

LOC - SITE / LOCATION
In the ILGRadio database there is a 3-digit abbreviation for each transmitter
site in the LOC data field, which can also be used to set a filter function.
The basis is the ITU Site List and for ILG purposes this small ITU list was
expanded significantly and currently includes more than 2600 locations
(LINK: ILGRadio Site List).
BROADCASTING:
The information here relates to the center of the antenna field of the station
and the abbreviation always stands for one transmitter location.
UTILITY:
The center of the transmitting station is also given here if known or the
assumed location if no precise data are available. With some Network Stations
the exact positions are completely unknown and the nearest large city is given here.
In some cases there will be several known locations with details in the data field
LONGI, LATI / POSTION / GC in the LOC abbreviation combined with just one entry.

ANTENNA
In the antenna data field ANTENNA there are simple references to the antenna type of the transmitting station.
Main antenna types:
HR: Curtain Antenna (could be also rotatable type)
HRS: Curtain Antenna slewable
LPH: Log Periodic Antenna Horizontal, LPV: Log Periodic Antenna Vertical
ND: non-directional / dipoles or given as "HQ", "Vert.", DIPOLE (if site data unknown)
RHO: Rhombic Antenna
No precise information are available for UTILITY stations and in some cases several types were specified,
if these were recognized with GOOGLE EARTH or GOOGLE STREET VIEW.

AZI - AZIMUTH
The direction of transmission with a directional antenna is given in degrees and is contained in the AZI data field.
If the direction is 180 degrees, the transmission is to the South, 90 degrees to the East, 270 degrees to the
West, 360 degrees to the North and with omnidirectional antennas the "0" (zero) is always indicated.

POWER
The transmitter Power is given in Kilowatt (kW) in the POWER field and for broadcasting stations rather correct
while for the UTILITY stations many power data are simply based on speculation due to the secrect policy of these
stations (military secrets).

CIRAF RECEPTION ZONES
In this field CIRAF the target areas of the zones according to the ITU World Map are indicated.
In addition, there are quadrants (appendices) in "E" (east), "N" (north), "S" (south) and "W" (west).

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
There are three display options due to the further development of the database:
LONGI and LATI for longitude and latitude with degrees and minutes (without a point or dot)
POSITION for the exact location of the transmitter in the improved "old" format.
   If the last two digits of both values ​​indicate "00", the correct position is unknown !
GC for the exact location of the transmitter whose value is compatible with GOOGLE EARTH.

CONTINENT MATRIX
These unique ILG data fields are used to set filters on the target areas:
NA = target area: North America
CA = target area: Central America & the Caribbean
SA = target area: South America
EU = target area: Europe
AF = target area: Africa
ME = target area: Middle East
AS = target area: Asia
AU = target area: Australia and New Zealand
PA = target area: Pacific

NOTES - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In the NOTES data field, there are mainly technical information, which in the case of UTILITY
Reception are very important, e.g. information on the type of transmission, type of modulation and further information which otherwise
cannot be included in other data fields. Here are some examples:
ALE MIL-STD 188-110A
ALE MIL-STD 188-141A
ARQ 100Bd / 500
CCIR 493-4 / 100Bd / 170
DSC FSK 100Bd / 170
FSK 50Bd / 200 ... 500
HFDL ARINC 1800Bd
LINK-11 MIL-STD 6011
MFSK-8 THALES S-3000
MPSK-12 AT3004D (M5)
PACTOR-1 100Bd / 200
PACTOR-2 100Bd / 200
PACTOR-3
QPSK / *** Bd / ***
QPSK-63
SAAB GRINTEC MHF-50
SITOR-B 100Bd / 170
STANAG 4481 75Bd / 850
STANAG 4285/300 ... 1200L
STANAG 4538 / FLSU
T-206 / 50Bd / 500
T-600 / 50Bd / 200 ... 250
WFAX 120/576

STATUS
In this field STATUS there is the information, which results from the consequence of the bandscans:
C = Reception Confirmed, i.e. the broadcast can be received
I = Inactive, i.e. transmitting station is not currently transmitting
N = Not Confirmed, No Receipt, or Broadcast Not Confirmed
X = Info data, is used if the REMARKS data field contains "INFO DATA" wording

TIMES OF TRANSMISSIONS
All transmission times are in the UTC data field, Coordinated Universal Time (English Coordinated
Universal Time, formerly GMT - Greenwich Mean Time). But that also means the broadcast days
for broadcasts e.g. to East Asia at 2200 UTC the transmission days at UTC are indicated one day
later and for broadcasts to North America at e.g. 0200 UTC the weekly day is one day earlier !!!
In the START and STOP data field, the same data are given as in UTC, only entered individually in
two data fields here.
All broadcast days DAYS are based on UTC time. ILGRadio indicates Monday as "1".

 

DATABASE STRUCTURE

LINK:
https://www.ilgradio.com/structure/ab-structure.html